NameCoach

NameCoach is a wonderful web service that educators are using to learn student's names and pronounce them correctly.  This is especially useful w/ commencement/graduation ceremonies on the horizon.  The way this works is simple as a teacher creates a name/web page and then has the student's speak their names.  The audio gets embedded into a page and a user can access them all on one page at anytime.  Also, NameCoach makes it very easy to share recordings and keep track of student's name/email.  It's easy, accurate, and 100% safe for schools to use.

I highly recommend checking out NameCoach by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief demo...



*NameCoach is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Matific

Matific is a fantastic site/mobile app (iOS/Android) for Math grades K-6.  The free mobile app has a wide variety of educational games/activities for El Ed aligned to Common Core Standards.  While the site has tons of educational resources such as: worksheets, activities, videos, and more.  Best of all is the educational portal which allows educators to track student progress and differentiate instruction.

I highly recommend checking out Matific by clicking here!!!

DimensionU

DimensionU is a fantastic site/apps for Game Based Learning in the areas of Math and Literacy.  These innovative games take place in an interactive 3D world and are designed for grades 3rd-9th and aligned to Common Core Standard.  Also, these games are contained in an educational portal, safe to play, and help develop collaborative learning.

I highly recommend checking out DimensionU by clicking here!!!

DimensionU Games

Comprised of four engaging, multiplayer games with access to curriculum in both Math and Literacy, grades 3 – 9. Each game is designed with unique features to bring out distinct academic and strategic skills in students.

Click here to view all content available in mathematics.
Click here to view all content available in literacy. 

Meltdown is the DimensionU game that offers students
a second chance when answering difficult questions,
and rewards creative strategies to achieve victory.

Swarm is DimensionU's team-based game that most strongly
reinforces cooperation and collaboration between students to
achieve a common goal.

Towerstorm is the DimensionU game that is best for
working through the most curriculum in the shortest
amount of time.

Velocity is DimensionU's high-speed obstacle course
that ensures players answer questions correctly
in order to continue progressing through the race.

For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.

*DimensionU is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Biteslide

Biteslide is a wonderful site that I've covered many times before that allows users to create beautiful slidebooks/presentations w/ simple to use drag-n-drop tools.  Best of all, it is all done through an educational portal that allows educators to create and manage student account.  Educators are using Biteslide for project based learning, flip a lesson, and more.

Recently, they just announced the unveiling of their "Project Kits" that are digital lessons aligned to Common Core Standard.

Here is more info...

Every project helps you teach the key 21st Century skills that your students need for their personal development: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity and digital citizenship.

Each Biteslide project kit includes:

• A beautifully designed slidebook to introduce the project to your students
• A project summary
• A starter activity
• Main activities
• Assessment criteria
• Project extension ideas

We are launching with three exclusive project kits:

• Exploring the Earth and Space – A stellar kit about the earth and space
• Digital Travel Brochure – A geography kit to create a fun and engaging city guide
• The Mayans – A historical kit that explores the marvellous Mayans

I highly recommend checking out Project Kits by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board for Web 2.0 for Schools click here.

*Biteslide is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

JumpStart

JumpStart is an excellent site/company that has an abundance of free educational resources for parents and educators such as worksheets, games, and more.  These resources cover a wide range of school subjects (i.e. Math, History, Science, etc) and are for grades 1st-5th.  Also, JumpStart recently released Hiccup's Science Workshop that is a site w/ free printables, worksheets, and experiments that focus on the Scientific Method.

I highly recommend checking out JumpStart educational resources by clicking here!!!
For more info on Hiccup's Science Workshop click here.

For my Pinterest board on Educational Resources click here.

Otus

Otus is a innovative new mobile learning system for the iPad.  This is an excellent free easy to use tool that educators around the world are using to seamlessly integrate technology into their classroom.  W/ the free iPad app educators can track assignments, assess students, poll, browse the web, take attendance, and more.  It is a complete all-in-one solution for the mobile learning environment.  Educators can even "flip" a lesson for at home instructions.  Also, the simple to use split-screen allows students to take notes while working on assignments.

*Now for any browser based device.

Below is a brief demo video...



I highly recommend checking out Otus by clicking here!!!

*Otus is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

30hands

30hands is a wonderful free or paid (30hands Pro) iOS app for digital storytelling and project based learning.  This is a simple to use yet powerful learning tool that schools everywhere are using to introduce digital storytelling.  Through it's drag-n-drop students are uploading photos and then recording their own narration to create wonderful projects/stories and exporting them to Google Drive or the safe and free 30hands "cloud".  30hands Pro unlocks all the features such as uploading video, exporting options, and hi-res video.

I highly recommend checking out 30hands by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Digital Storytelling click here.

*30hands Learning is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Tickle

Tickle is the fantastic easy to iOS app for learning how to program or code.  This is done simply by using one of the templates (drone, Sphero, etc) and then dragging-dropping blocks of code together (users of Scratch will feel right at home.  Not only can a student program a robot or drone, they can create interactive stories by using built-in interactive characters and sound.

I highly recommend checking out Tickly by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Programming/Coding click here.

Yogome Heroes of Knowledge

Yogome well known for their educational games and characters/Yogotars, has just released their latest iOS app, Heroes of Knowledge.  This is a super fun app designed for kids 6-11 that has 100s of games in wide range of areas, such as: programming, Math, Science, and much much more.  Best of all, the app allows for educators/parents to monitor and track their student progress.

I highly recommend checking out Yogome Heroes of Knowledge by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.

*Yogome is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

ProjectWriter for History

ProjectWriter is an excellent learning tool that is ideal for teaching and reinforce learning for a wide variety of subjects.  Recently, BoomWriter the creators of ProjectWriter released their History page which shows how PW can be used to create innovative collaborative writing projects or textbooks to build vocabulary and knowledge of the given subject.  Also, the flexibility allows educators to use for  a single project or incorporate into a whole field of studying.

I highly recommend checking out ProjectWriter for Science by clicking here!!!

*BoomWriter is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

EDpuzzle

EDpuzzle the excellent and free learning tool for flipping a classroom and adding questions to a video has just released a new update.  This update has a new landing page making it easier for students/teachers to sign in, as well as a drag-n-drop interface to add questions to a video.  Also, EDpuzzle allows educators to track and monitor student assignments as well generate detailed reports.

I highly recommend checking out EDpuzzle by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief demo...



*EDpuzzle is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

For my Pinterest board on Flipping a Classroom click here.

Toy Theater

Toy Theater is a fun site for kids PreK-6th grade.  This is a ideal site for game based learning that helps students in a variety of subjects such as: Math, Reading, Art, Music, and more.  This is a nice site to use as centers as it is safe for students and has a wide variety of games and puzzles they can play through.

I highly recommend checking out Toy Theater by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.

Wonder

Wonder is a new search engine that I just found out about from the wonderful blog, Educational Technology Guy.  This is an interesting site that lets users filter through experts on any given topic.  A user can also save their results and become experts as well by a click of a button.

I highly recommend checking out Wonder by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Search Engines click here.

GoClass

GoClass is a wonderful new (beta) site/app for flipping a classroom.  This is a fantastic solution for educators to be able to manage their classes/students and create dynamic lessons that can be shared on mobile devices.  Students can login to a session on their mobile device and then follow the lesson following the "show-explain-ask" method.  Teachers can then get instant real-time feedback on student engagement and learning as well as attendance.

I highly recommend checking out GoClass by clicking here!!!

*GoClass is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

LearnBop

LearnBop is a excellent site for educators looking to help their students in any area of Math.  The way this works is through an educational portal where students solve "bops" or math problems aligned to Common Core Standards.  If a student has trouble working through a problem an innovative interactive visual workflow is displayed that helps students learn how to solve the problem.  Best of all an educator gets detailed reports of students programs and allows them to differentiate instruction.

I highly recommend checking out LearnBop by clicking here!!!

For another detailed review check out Graphite.

Below is a demo video...

Shadow Puppet Edu

Shadow Puppet Edu is an excellent easy to use app for Project Based Learning and Digital Storytelling.  Like the former app it has a drag and drop interface but w/ this new educational instance it allows for easier/safer searching and integration of pictures as well as no student email account to use.

Below is a list of their other features...

• Make videos just like before combining photos, video clips, voice, text and drawing. Use up to 100 images, and make videos up to 30 minutes long. All limits/purchases on the consumer version have been removed and the app will be free for edu use.  
• Search the Library of Congress, NASA, Creative Commons, or generic web/gif search for awesome content to include in videos. A citation page is automatically added to the end of the video. We're super excited about the potential here in social science and science classes—our search tools make it possible to access and use amazing content from Library of Congress and NASA in a way we haven't seen any other apps do.    
• Common Core-aligned activity ideas to make it easy to get started using Shadow Puppet Edu in English, social studies, science, math, art and foreign language classes.
• Controls to disable web image search. Parental gates for sharing and the ability to disable/enable those as well. 

I highly recommend checking out Shadow Puppet Edu by clicking here!!!

To find Shadow Puppet Edu on Edshelf click here.

For my Pinterest board on Digital Storytelling click here.

TenMarks Summer Program

TenMarks the wonderful online Math tool for students is offering a free summer online learning program starting May 19th.  This adaptive program will help prevent summer learning loss by using TenMarks 60 min per week.  Finally, detailed results can then be sent to a student's upcoming teacher to assess their learning.

I highly recommend checking out TenMarks Summer Program by clicking here!!!

Parapara Animation

Parapara Animation is a neat little site for creating custom animations that I just found out about from Richard Byrne's excellent blog.  Users of stop motion animation will feel right at home as a user draws a picture then clicks on the + button to add another frame.  When that happens an outline of the previous frame is seen on the new frame to make the animation flow seamlessly.  A finished product can then be shared via URL or QR code.

I highly recommend checking out Parapara Animation by clicking here!!!

mySkillBoard

mySkillBoard is a nice new site for differentiating instruction.  The way this is done is by an educator inputing student data into mySkillBoard and then being able to assess students through different visualizations.  Also, an educator can align student skills to Common Core Standards and even use it on any mobile device.

I highly recommend checking out mySkillBoard by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Differentiating Instruction click here.

Classmill

Classmill is a nice site for online teaching.  Educator can find an abundance of learning tools to use to create their classes such as: links, videos, images, files, and more.  Best of all educators can monitor and track student progress while differentiating instruction.  Also, this is a nice place for students to find and register for online  classes for free.

I highly recommend checking out Classmill by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board for Online Teaching/Tutoring click here.

GoConqr

GoConqr (formerly known as ExamTime) has recently been through a major site overhaul which has improved on the user interface, mobiles apps (iOS/Android), and polished new look.  This is an excellent learning tool for education that lets users create, flashcards, mindmaps, quizzes, and more.

Here is more email from their promotional email...

• ExamTime is now GoConqr. We’ve changed the name and given it a fresh look to better reflect what the learning platform is all about. It’s still the same team behind GoConqr, the same great tools and features. Read more about the change below
• We’ve recently passed the 1 million member mark. Over 1 million students and teachers from around the globe have signed up for better learning with GoConqr. Our community is increasing rapidly by the day, with thousands of learning resources being created and discovered daily. To celebrate this milestone, we’ve given users on our basic accounts more free subjects
• New mobile apps launched! After thousands of requests from users, we are delighted to announce that GoConqr is now available as an iOS or Android app. View, discover and share great learning resources on the go

I highly recommend checking out GoConqr by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Web 2.0 for Schools click here.

SpellingCity

SpellingCity is currently offering a Spring special of 2 months added to a Premium membership for free by using the promo code SPRING15 for renewing/new accounts.  This is the ultimate site around for vocabulary and spelling where educators can can create word lists and integrate them into educational games (online/mobile).

I highly recommend checking out SpellingCity by clicking here!!!

*SpellingCity is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Buncee Earth Day School Contest

Last week Buncee released an online contest for upcoming Earth Day.  This contest is divided into groups for K-2, 3-5, and 6-8th graders where students must create a "buncee" to answer the question, "What could your school do to help protect the Earth?"

The contest is aligned to Common Core Standards and the 1st and 2nd place winners of each age group will win prizes.  1st place receives a $200 Amazon gift card bunceeEDU Plus subscriptions for up to 300 students for the winning school.  2nd place will receive bunceeEDU Plus subscriptions for up to a 100 students.

I highly recommend checking out Buncee's Earth Day School Contest by clicking here!!!

*Buncee is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

GraphFree

GraphFree is a excellent new online graphing tool that I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers.  This site is designed for HS students/teachers looking to create graphs in a wide range of areas such as: bar, graph, bell curve, etc.  Best of all, there are help video tutorials and even lets user plot graphs that graphing calculators can't do.

I highly recommend checking out GraphFree by clicking here!!

Story Share

Story Share is an interesting new sites for readers grades K-12th.  This site creates interesting digital books for students but customizes them to their appropriate Reading Level.  This is ideal for students who want to read more age appropriate books but struggle w/ the content.  Also, these books come w/ built-in reading assistance to help them as well.  Authors can even use Story Share to create digital books using their creation wizard.

I highly recommend checking out Story Share by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Educational Resources click here.

Seesaw v. 1.5

Seesaw the excellent free iOS app for students to create digital portfolio has just leased some big updates in their latest version, 1.5.

Here's what's new...

• Folders: Now you can organize student work in to folders. You can set up colored folders for subject areas or learning objectives, and choose whether students self select folders when adding items or teachers do it as part of item approval.  Folders are visible to teachers, students and parents.  You can browse work by folder across your class or for a particular student. 
• Teacher Flags: Teachers (and co-teachers) can flag items to review later -- at a parent teacher conference, with a student, or however you'd like.  Which items have been flagged are only visible to class teachers and co-teachers.
• PDF Documents: Now you can add PDFs to Seesaw journals. You can import PDFs from many other iOS apps (like Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Google Drive, Book Creator) using the iOS share extension / open in feature. Just tap share in those apps and select Seesaw. 
• Tag Everyone: Want to add a class photo to Seesaw journals, or send a quick note to all parents in your class?  Now you can add an item to all student journals with a single tap.

I highly recommend checking out Seesaw by clicking here!!!

*Seesaw is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Storyboard That Timelines

Storyboard That the innovative site for creating storyboards, digital lessons/storytelling, project based learning, and more, has just released an update that allows users to create timelines.  All a student/teacher has to do is create a new storyboard and select timeline.  They then have the option to add a date, text, image, or select one of the many templates/styles of their choice (i.e web, t-chart, grid, etc.).  This is a simple and great way to make a timeline or graphic organizer.  Educators can use this to create templates and then have students fill it out online through Storyboard That's educational portal, making it a perfect tool to use for any subject or grade level.

I highly recommend checking out Storyboard That by clicking here!!!

*Storyboard That is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

National Poetry Month on BoomWriter

BoomWriter has a bunch of wonderful activities that can be done in WordWriter and StoryWriter for National Poetry Month.  Educators can use WordWriter to download their vocabulary sheet filled w/ key terms about poetry and poem structure to create engaging activities.  Also, they can use the StoryWriter Poem Lesson Plan to create collaborative poems w/ their students.

I highly recommend checking out BoomWriter for poetry activities by clicking here!!!

*BoomWriter is a advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Monster Math

*Monster Math will be free April 2nd-6th for Autism Awareness Day.

Monster Math is an excellent iOS app/game for learning basic Math skills (i.e. addition, multiplication, etc.).  This is done through an engaging and fun game, as a student helps Maxx solve Math problems to find his friend Dextra.  Best of all, is the detailed reporting that allows parents/teachers to track student's progress.  Also, Monster Math adjusts skill level based on a user's performance and differentiates instruction accordingly.  Finally, Monster Math has lots of replay value as there are lots of levels and worlds to explore, and is aligned to Common Core Standards.

I highly recommend checking out Monster Math by clicking here!!!
For a more detailed review check out Edshelf.

Below is a brief demo...

Monster Math - Trailer from Roopesh Shenoy on Vimeo.

For my Pinterest board on Educational iOS Apps click here.